Development of a Library for Building Surface Layout Simulator

Abstract

Available building simulation tools resort to using fixed schedules for modeling occupant behavior (OB), which does not accurately capture its nature. A significant aspect of OB is the movement and sequence of actions with regards to their surroundings. This requires some coherence about the surface layout, including the placement of furniture and the occupant’s interaction with it. There is a need for understanding vital information about the different attributes of the furniture, such as the placement and order of importance. Until now, there exists no such library with this kind of granularity in information. This paper explores the questions with regard to the development of such a library. This includes the description of the type of variables associated with different kinds of furniture, along with the occupant interaction under typical scenarios. The results from this study can be used to integrate the resulting library with building simulation tools and to better understand and develop occupant behavior models.